Creamy, smooth homemade vanilla pudding sweetened with honey instead of sugar. We love this homemade vanilla pudding warm or cold, plain or dressed up with whipped cream or a fruit topping. It is also delicious served with cake instead of frosting.
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Well hello there.
Happy Friday to you!
Today I’m sharing another yummy homemade treat for you that’s sweetened with honey. Just honey. No refined sugar.
And it’s delicious.
But before I get into the recipe I’ve got a question for you.
Have you ever intentionally tried going without sugar for any amount of time?
A day? A week? A month?
What was it like for you?
I’ve gone for several months without eating processed sugar and it was amazing what a difference I felt in my body.
Currently I do eat sugar but I’m trying to intentionally make portion control choices like eating one brownie rather than the whole pan. That’s something that’s been difficult for me. In fact in some ways it’s actually easier for me to go without sugar completely than to exercise control to just eat one normal sized piece.
I’ve mentioned before that one of my sons has gone over 2 years without any sugar sweetened treats.
That’s no candy. No donuts. None of it. Not that he hasn’t been offered it. He’s turned it all down.
People are always asking me what my son does eat for treats. He loves fresh fruit and I always try to keep lots of that on hand–oranges, bananas, apples, etc. And a couple of times a week I will make a honey-sweetened dessert for our family.
The whole process has been eye opening for me. It’s really crazy how many treats kids are offered everywhere they go.
There are sugar rewards everywhere
We go to the bank and they give out suckers. We go to the grocery store and they’ve got a free candy bin. There’s candy and sugar-filled treats galore at school and at church. There’s treats and sugary drinks after every sports game they play.
In fact it’s used as a reward for pretty much everything.
Does anyone else find this a little bit concerning?
I have no problem with my kids having a piece of candy now and again but I feel like (at least where we live) the whole sugar-reward thing has gotten hugely out of hand.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you think rewarding with sugar has gotten to be a problem? Any ideas of what parents can do to help with this? What do you do in your family to help avoid sugar overeating?
I would appreciate hearing your opinions. It’s something that’s been on my mind a lot and I’d love to hear what others are doing in their families.
So getting back to the recipe, we try to offer really yummy honey-sweetened treats a couple of times a week. We figure that it’s always easier to make a healthy choice if it is a tasty one.
This honey-sweetened homemade vanilla pudding is one of our favorites.
How to serve this vanilla pudding
This pudding can be eaten warm or cold, plain or dressed up, and any way you choose it is delicious.
We like it topped with fruit (berries or bananas are yummy) and a little whipped cream.
We also love using it in place of frosting on top of a honey-sweetened cake. One of our favorite combos is a variation on strawberry shortcake. We make a whole-grain, honey-sweetened cake, topped with this pudding, strawberries and a bit of whipped cream.
YUM.
For a no-sugar whipped cream topping, beat some heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Then flavor it with a little vanilla extract and a bit of agave or pure maple syrup. We’ve tried flavoring the whipped cream with honey but since our raw honey is usually crystallized it gets kinda clumpy and doesn’t work quite as well.
For a super, smooth creamy pudding, strain it with a fine-mesh strainer before serving. The lazy girl approach is to just serve it without worrying about straining it, which is what we usually do.
This pudding is thickened with cornstarch so it is gluten free. We’ve also made it dairy free using canned or refrigerated coconut or almond milk.
Okay my friends. I think that’s all for now. Chime in with any thoughts from the topics I’ve brought up in this post: Have you tried going without sugar? Thoughts on sugar rewards for kids? Do you have any dairy free hints for me? See ya.
Homemade Vanilla Pudding {Honey Sweetened}
Creamy, smooth homemade vanilla pudding sweetened with honey instead of sugar. We love this homemade vanilla pudding warm or cold, plain or dressed up with whipped cream or a fruit topping. It is also delicious served with cake instead of frosting.
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk divided, see note
- ¼ cup raw honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch see note
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
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Heat 1 ½ cups of the milk and the honey in a medium-sized heavy-duty saucepan over medium low heat until bubbles just start to form around edges (about 3 to 5 minutes).
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In a separate medium heat-proof bowl add the remaining ½ cup milk and salt. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch until mixture is smooth without lumps. Then gently whisk in egg and set aside.
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When milk/honey mixture starts to bubble around the edges, remove from heat and very gradually add it to the cornstarch mixture in the bowl. Whisk quickly and continuously as you slowly pour it in, so that no lumps form.
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Return the mixture back to the saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly with a whisk until it comes to a simmer and begins to thicken (about 4 to 5 minutes). Then cook for one minute longer. Bubbles will pop at the surface of the thickened pudding.
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Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and butter. Strain pudding through a fine mesh strainer to remove any lumps or pieces of cooked egg, if desired (see note).
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Serve pudding warm or cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface to avoid getting a skin on the pudding. Then refrigerate until chilled.
Recipe Notes
1. I usually use whole milk in this recipe, but it is also delicious with half and half or part milk/part cream. We have also made this with canned or refrigerated coconut milk (for dairy free) and it gives a yummy coconut flavor to the pudding. You can also try almond milk. The butter can be omitted in the dairy free variations.
2. You can substitute ¼ cup all-purpose flour in place of the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
3. Straining the pudding is optional. As long as you whisk quickly when you add the hot mixture to the egg mixture you should be able to avoid the lumps and cooked egg pieces. If you are super picky about a smooth texture, go ahead and strain the produce the smoothest, creamiest pudding ever.
3. For a no-sugar whipped cream topping, beat heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Then flavor it with a little vanilla extract and a bit of agave or pure maple syrup. We’ve tried flavoring the whipped cream with honey but since our raw honey is usually crystallized it gets kinda clumpy and doesn’t work quite as well.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
Is using an entire egg correct in the honey sweetened vanilla pudding recipe? I ask since your chocolate version calls for just using the yolk. Also can the butter be left out in either of the pudding recipes if I am using dairy milk?
Yes the whole egg is correct. Butter can be left out in either recipe, but it is better with it of course ☺️
I would’ve given 5 stars, but wasn’t able to.
This was delicious and so easy! I used mostly oat milk with some heavy cream as I didn’t have quite enough oat milk. Sprinkled a little cinnamon on top.
Thanks Janine!
Turned out great! Highly recommend
Thanks Sophia!
This was delicious!!!! I made it exactly as printed. I made a graham cracker crust in 4 ramekins. Put the pudding on top with berries and a little whipped cream and it was amazing. With the honey as a sweetener and using just graham crackers and butter for the crust, it was a perfect low carb low refined sugar treat for me and my husband who are both diabetic. For the record…I’d give 5 stars, but for some reason the fifth star didn’t work. Thanks for the amazing recipe!!
Yum! Thanks for letting me know Jo that the fifth star didn’t work. You’re very welcome.
Im sorry but the recipe did not work for me
Hi Anna, what went wrong?
Cashew and Oatmilk are the most neutral, taste wise. Unless you child has a nut allergy, then avoid the cashew. Otherwise it is a great alternative to cook with as it does not cause recipes to taste funny, but brings a great creaminess. I don’t us coconut as I have problems with it causing stomach issues, personally. If you play around with recipes, you can get them to work pretty well, I have found. It is trial and error with each type ofus milk. Oat is a little more work, but can be done. Cashew is easier, because of the fat content.
I made this pudding with coconut milk for the millionth time today. It’s one of my favorites. I found a gluten-free recipe that calls for vanilla pudding that helps make the cookies really soft. I also use part dairy free eggnog and part coconut milk and the flavor is so amazing. So far my cookies are soft and yummy and I’m so excited they turned out!
Yum. That sounds like an amazing combo Bethany! And what a good idea to put this in cookies. 😊
Hi I’m trying this today, I’ve just made a hazelnut crust and want to fill it with a pudding/custard and top it with a black raspberry coulis. And maybe some whipped cream if there’s cream left over.
And- I only have honey in the cupboard! So I am very glad to have come across your recipe and site. I’m going to subscribe because I like the other recipes you’ve posted.
Hey that sounds amazing! I bet it turned out delicious. Thanks for subscribing too. Happy to have you along 🙂
Heather, I tried this and it was so yummy! How can I make a chocolate version?
Hey Catherine glad you loved the recipe! I actually have a chocolate version already perfected that I will post soon! 🙂
No offense I followed recipe to a tee. It was inedible.
I’m sorry it didn’t work for you Monica. I’m curious what went wrong and what you mean by inedible.
I’ve been on this fine sugar for two months. On a program by Dr. Ian Smith and have lost 15 pounds in the last two months. I am looking forward to trying this recipe because on the program I could have raw honey. Thank you.
Sorry typos. I have been off refined sugar for last two months.
You’re welcome. 😊 That’s great Monica! Congrats on the weight loss and hope you like the recipe.
I Can’t wait to make banana pudding with this! I have one question though, Can all purpose flour be used in place of corn starch?
HI Jamesia,
Yes I have made this with all-purpose flour. Use twice as much – so about 1/4 cup all-purpose flour instead of the 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Just updated the recipe with that variation!
Hello! I was Gestational Diabetic for two of my three pregnancies, and I had to totally cut out all non-essential carbohydrates (sweets etc) and heavily moderate my healthy carbs for the last trimester of each. I agree, when you can’t (or choose not to) eat candy and junk food, you realize how inundated we really are with it.
It opened my eyes to how badly I used to eat, and I endeavored to teach my kids how to choose their food and snacks correctly from the start.
They now understand not to eat sweets at all in the morning, and later in the day only after they’ve eaten real food for a lunch, snack, or dinner. They love fruits and veggies, and prefer water to soda and juice most of the time. (Most of the time!) They are very happy with this set up, and I’m so proud of them for making good decisions when I’m not there.
That’s why I’m here looking up your recipe today; I’m trying to find ways to give them treats with less empty filler that still taste like a treat, because I don’t want to deny them the fun that dessert can bring.
Sorry this was so long, but I just wanted to say you’re not alone, haha.
Thanks for this Briana. I think it really is a journey and it sounds like you’ve got some great habits started. I agreee that it is so rewarding when kids make good eating choices even when they are alone. Thanks for the support and I wish you the best with yours as well.
I have to try this! Looks amazingly delicious! Also, I feel ya on the brownie problem. But really, how can you just eat one??!! Ha!
I know, I know! How can you eat just one? LOL!
Trying this! It looks easy and awesome.
Hope you enjoy it Kia!